Guest post: Are We Cheapening Church?

I know many people find that the change in church attire from formal to flip flops, jean shorts and t-shirts to be great. I for one am really struggling with it. I know that God sees our heart and what we wear doesn’t make us any different in His sight. I know many godly people who dress casually for church and I do not question their salvation, so please don’t misunderstand me.

Here is where I struggle: Doesn’t the way we dress show our attitude towards what we are doing? We dress up when we are doing something special on Saturday night. Isn’t church special? Why is it no longer worth getting dressed up for?

It’s been shown time and time again that when schools require uniforms it affects the students attitudes in a positive way. Christian schools often require uniforms or strict dress codes because of this, yet there’s no dress code in the church..? What we wear does affect our attitude! I dress my daughters and myself up every Sunday, not to impress anyone but because I want them to know that going to church is special and set apart.

I fear the whole trend toward casual church attire is cheapening Church. I fear it becoming another occasion where we just slip on our tennis shoes, grab our coffee mug and linger in… forgetting where it is we are.

That said, I do realize it is our heart that truly matters. God is with us & true worship can occur, no matter what we are wearing. Jesus says in Matthew 18:20, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

Many consider appropriate church attire to be a disputable matter. I know that God convicts different people of different things at different times in their Christian walk. I simply implore you to examine your heart and your attitudes about church. Pray and ask God to direct your thoughts and that you will be faithful to however He convicts you on this issue.

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8 thoughts on “Guest post: Are We Cheapening Church?”

Dressing the part definitely shows a higher respect for the occasion of church-going. Wearing sweatpants and flip flops, for example, doesn’t really convey that level of care. But I like that you add a disclaimer emphasizing that the heart is what matters most – I agree. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the matter!

I have wondered often whether the casual dress affects in any way, however, I think it is more comfortable to dress the way you feel best produces the most positive, church energy. Thanks for bringing up a good point, it is definitely something to think about!

Thanks to each one who has left comments regarding my post! I do agree that it is the heart of worship and the focus on God that is what’s of importance. In my church it just seemed the decline in dress code negatively affected the attitude and focus. Therefore, It was hard for me to think the two aren’t somewhat linked…I greatly appreciate each one’s thoughts. It’s good to see things through other’s eyes and not just my own experiences. Blessings!

I am grateful for our casual Church. It is not casual in it’s teaching. It spares me a battle with my 14 year old son. He loves the Lord but really has a “thing” right now for adult-sanctioned dress clothes. It has also been a blessing to me while we have hovered between being broke and really broke not to have to buy panty hose, dress shoes and the rest. My kids look forward to Church. What I do instead of dressing up is to remind them when we get in the car about a prayerful and worshipful attitude. We usually ride in total quiet or listen to praise music only. We all find we get to Church with our eyes on Him more than on the friends or donuts!

Hi Jo! It’s a priviledge to read your heartfelt words and well prepared post as a special guest of Hadias’. I fully agree with your assessment that it is the content of the heart that the Lord ultimately looks at. I agree that dressing up reflects in our perception of self in many arenas – so let us be intent on a heart clothed with His righteousness brought about by repentance. 🙂 Then, as we each seek to represent Him before others, we are effective witnesses. 🙂

Thank you, thank you! For this post! We do have a dress code in our church. Our ladies wear dresses and no one wears shorts. Now if we have visitors and they wear shorts, or the ladies have on pants they are always made to feel welcome…and if we have new members to join they are quietly taught to respect God’s house by dressing appropriately. We certainly do not make people feel uncomfortable because of their attire. We never embarrass anyone by poiting out the way they are dressed.But God’s Word teaches us that we are to be different than the world. We’re to be separate and make a statement by our actions and the way we dress…the things we do, etc.Like you, I think we do cheapen church by not reverencing God and His House.Haven’t vivited your blog in awhile….glad I stopped by at this time!God bless you for the stand you take!

Hmmm….I guess we would have to agree to disagree on this issue. I think the idea of church is very much tied to the community and culture of the people who gather.

No, I would have to say church is not something I set apart. I don’t set apart any aspect of my walk with God. He is always with me, whether I am scrubbing the toilet, or sitting with my brothers ad sisters in Christ on Sunday morning. When we all lift our voices and sing, God comes where we are.

By relaxing the standards of dress, my church has seen tremendous growth for God’s kingdom. Many of the lost would not come to a church with a dress code, whether demanded or implied. They come to our church, they meet Jesus and they get baptized and become disciples.

I think when we require a certain dress, we have lost the point entirely. I wonder if the early church made a point to dress up to come together and study the scriptures? It seems to me, they would have dressed like most of us do for Bible study groups and small groups (which are basically what the first churches were): in what we have.